Of Lavender and Laundry Detergent
by Maria1229
Summary: When Gabriella and Sharpay are assigned partners for an English project, tempers rise, egos clash, and feelings develop. Femmeslash. GabriellaxSharpay
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** _High School Musical_ is a property of Disney. I do not own any of these characters, I just like playing with them. :-)

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Part One:

The scratching of pens against notebook paper were the only sounds heard in Mr. Orfino's classroom. Gabriella Montez squinted her eyes as she tried with difficulty to read her teacher's chicken scratch handwriting on the chalkboard.

The class was copying down notes for their latest project that Mr. Orfino insisted on having, even though there was only a few weeks left of the fall semester. He was one of those teachers who preferred to have big assignments rather than the daily ones. It always resulted in more homework. Gabriella preferred the latter because they were more simple and weren't worth as much.

She had only one more line to copy when her sight was suddenly obstructed by a blinding glare. Lifting her hand to block it, Gabriella looked around to see where it was coming from. At first she thought it was the reflection from someone's watch until she looked over to the desk sitting diagonally from her. It was occupied by none other than Sharpay Evans. The source of the glare came from a compact mirror Sharpay had opened and she was now busy looking at herself not caring about anything else. Annoyed, Gabriella tried to get her attention.

"Sharpay!" she whispered.

Sharpay didn't turn around but lifted the mirror higher so the glare was directly in Gabriella's eyes. She could feel her temper rising as she tried again.

"Sharpay, I can't see the board and not to mention you're blinding me. Can you look at yourself after class is over?"

No response. Gabriella felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. Troy put his finger to his mouth indicating her to stop talking. She was too annoyed to follow Mr. Orfino's number one classroom rule about no talking as she took her pen and threw it at Sharpay. It hit her square on the head and she let out her signature yelp. She turned around and looked at Gabriella while everyone in the class turned to look at her. Gabriella sank low in her seat and looked over at Troy who bit his hand trying not to laugh.

"Ms. Evans, does this assignment excite you?" Mr. Orfino asked with a sarcastic tone.

"No, Mr. Orfino. Gabriella just…"

"Chose you as her partner for the project?" He finished.

"What?!" Both Gabriella and Sharpay yelled. He ignored them and grinned.

"This will be lovely. With Ms. Montez' brain and your talent, this will be the best presentation the class will ever see."

"But Mr. Orfino…"

"She just…."

Both girls tried to protest but the bell signaling the end of class rang. Sharpay stood up and gave Gabriella a death glare before dramatically exiting the room.

Gabriella rolled her eyes as she gathered her things. She knew there was no point in arguing with the teacher.

"So I guess I have to look for a new partner."

"I'm sorry, Troy. I did not expect that to happen."

"Neither did anyone else. Why did you decide to throw your pen at her? Bravo on that by the way. It was very entertaining." They made their way to the lockers.

"Because she was annoying me." Troy laughed as they stopped at Gabriella's locker.

"More so than usual that you decided to throw objects at her?"

"No." Gabriella opened her locker and started to put her books away. "I couldn't see the board because of her _stupid mirror_, and her _stupid_ way of pretending to ignore me, and her _stupid_ narcissistic—" She hated that Sharpay got under her skin like this. It always brought out her worse side.

"Gabriella, calm down." He took away some of her books because she was now throwing them in her locker causing a raucous.

"Sorry. It's just…I have to be her _stupid_ partner!" Troy gave her a sympathetic look and held his arms open.

"Do you need a hug?"

She sighed. "Yes, please." Gabriella buried her face in Troy's chest as he wrapped his arms around her. "Thanks." Her voice was muffled against his chest.

"No problem."

"Oh, the damages my sister always leaves behind." Ryan had just approached them. Gabriella unglued herself from Troy and turned around.

"Hey, Ryan."

"What the hell happened in there? I just heard Sharpay yell."

"I threw my pen at her." She said simply. Ryan let out a sound that was a cross between a snort and a laugh.

"Why?"

"Because she was annoying me."

"She annoys us all, but we don't throw things at her…but maybe we should." Gabriella smiled and continued to put her books away. Ryan took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair. "Um, not to make you feel any worse, but you left me partner less."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She indicated Troy who hadn't said a word since Ryan showed up. "Hey Troy doesn't have a partner either, why don't you guys do it together?" He suddenly dropped one of the books he was holding on Gabriella's foot.

"Ow!"

"Sorry!" He immediately bent down to retrieve it and on the way back up hit his head on the open locker door. Ryan winced watching Troy make contact with the metal door.

Gabriella stared at him with wide eyes when he came back up. "Geez Troy, what the hell?"

"Sorry." He said again while rubbing his head. He looked at Ryan who looked like he was about to crack up and blushed with embarrassment. Ryan put his hat back on and put his hands in his pants pockets.

"So, want to be partners?"

Troy nodded his head. "Sure, when do you want to meet?"

Ryan thought for a second. "Um, how about after school?"

"It has to be after basketball practice."

"No problem. I'll just stay and watch it. I'd rather not be home with my sister."

"Okay, that's cool." Troy continued rubbing his head. "I have to go to my next class. I'll see you at lunch, Gabriella." He turned to walk away when she called him back.

"Um, Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"My book?" Troy blushed again as he handed Gabriella her book.

"See ya." He gave her a little wave before leaving. Gabriella looked at his retreating form and shook her head.

"Is he always that weird?" Ryan asked watching him leave with his head slightly tilted. A little smirk planted on his lips.

Gabriella shrugged her shoulders. "Not usually, but he is pretty crazy." She closed her locker and rubbed her foot where the book hit it. "Ugh, this means I actually have to talk to Sharpay about meeting."

Ryan put his arm around her as they walked down the hallway. "Not only that, but work with her for two glorious weeks." She gave Ryan a glare that prompted him to remove his arm.

"Well I'm either going to kill her or myself. So prepare to be the only child."

He laughed. "It's not that bad. I've been dealing with her for 18 years, you can handle two weeks."

"I just really don't want to talk to her right now. Unless…" She stopped and gave Ryan a pleading look. He knew what she was thinking and shook his head.

"No." He turned on his heel and started to leave, but Gabriella chased after him.

"Come on, Ryan! Just tell her to meet me after school." Ryan started to speed walk trying to get a way from Gabriella's pleas.

"No! I refuse to be your middle-man."

Gabriella started to get desperate. "Please! I'll get my mom to make you some brownies." He stopped and turned around contemplating the offer.

"Tempting as that sounds, you got yourself in this mess. Good luck! Oh, and thanks for getting me a new partner. This was my blessing. Bye, Gabriella." He gave her a smile and took off in the opposite direction.

"Your blessing, my curse." The warning bell rang making Gabriella rush to her next class. Luckily it was only study hall and the teacher never cared if you were a few minutes late.

Gabriella took her seat next to Taylor and took out her planner, jotting down the dates she can meet up with Sharpay. She gritted her teeth when she noticed that to get the project done in the fastest way possible, she actually had to meet with Sharpay almost everyday.

"Hey, how was 3rd hour?" Taylor asked not looking up from the book she was studying. She didn't notice Gabriella's bad mood.

"Horrible."

She put the book down and looked at Gabriella who was vigorously writing and erasing things in her planner. "Why? What happened?" She winced when Gabriella tore a hole on one of the pages.

"You know how Mr. Orfino assigned that huge project that's due in two weeks?

"Yeah?"

"Well, he also assigned partners."

"Really? My class got to pick ours."

"Yeah, usually we do too, and Troy's _always_ my partner until now."

"So who's your partner now?

"Sharpay," she said with spite as she tore another hole in the page. Taylor's jaw dropped.

"How the hell did that happen?"

"Long story. I threw my pen at her although I wish I threw a stapler or something heavier." Taylor looked at her in disbelief.

"Do tell me the rest." Gabriella recounted the story of what happened and how she ended up with the partner from hell.

"So who's Troy's partner?"

"Ryan, who I'm currently mad at." She could tell that Gabriella wasn't really mad at him.

"You're mad at him by default because he's related to Sharpay?"

"No. He won't talk to Sharpay for me. If this stupid assignment wasn't worth so much, I wouldn't be this stressed." Gabriella rubbed her neck feeling the tension that started to build up the minute Mr. Orfino assigned Sharpay as her partner.

"Yeah, I can't believe Mr. Orfino is making it our midterm. Chad almost died when he found that out." Gabriella stopped writing in her planner and looked at Taylor.

"Wait, what?"

"Didn't he tell your class?"

"No, he was too busy ruining my life. It's going to be our midterm?" Her voice got a little louder. Taylor proceeded with caution.

"Yeah…" Gabriella broke her pencil in half.

"Can this day get _any_ worse?"

--&--&--&--

Gabriella trudged down the hallways towards the pink locker. She didn't even care that she was running into people in the way or that she was making a sound that sounded like she was an angry animal. She felt like she was walking to the gallows and Sharpay Evans was the hangman. The hangman in a pink outfit.

_Might as well get this over with._

She stood by the wall by Sharpay's locker as she waited for her to appear. She wanted to rip the stupid star on the locker that had Sharpay's name on it and tear it into shreds.

"What are you doing here?" Gabriella turned around to see Sharpay standing behind her with a look that could kill. _Does she practice that look in the mirror?_

"I need to talk to you about the project." Sharpay didn't say anything but just opened her locker not even caring that Gabriella was in the way. Gabriella had to jump in order to avoid the door from hitting her. It amazed her of all the crap Sharpay had in there that weren't school related.

"Look, we should meet today, so do you think you can come over my house around 4:30?" She tried hard to be civil towards her but it was extremely difficult when Sharpay appeared not to be listening to a single word. Instead, she was looking at herself in the mirror. Gabriella was tempted to slam the door.

"You know the next time you decide to throw something at me, there's going to be some dire consequences." She slammed her locker door very loudly but Gabriella didn't even flinch.

"You know that may work on the underclassmen, but you're forgetting, Sharpay, I'm not scared of you." Sharpay eyed her up and down and got right in her face.

"You should be." Gabriella let out a cynical laugh.

"Are you serious? Who the hell says that?" Sharpay took a step back and Gabriella took a deep breath.

"Look, I just found out that this project is going to count as the midterm so we _have_ to work together in order to pass." Sharpay's face was unreadable.

"Fine. I'll be at your house at 4:30." With that, she pushed roughly pass Gabriella. She watched her as she strutted down the hallway in usual "I'm the Queen of this school" way. Gabriella shook her head and sighed.

"This is going to be fun."

--&--&--&--

"Sharpay Evans is going to be here?"

"Yes, mom. She's my partner for the English project." Gabriella was sitting on her kitchen counter telling her mom about her day. She was exasperated because her mom had the tendency to repeat the same questions over and over again. She hated constantly being reminded that Sharpay was her partner.

"And how did that happen?" Gabriella's patience was wearing thin. She had been snappy since third hour and she knew her mom would get mad if she snapped at her. It was almost 4:30 and Gabriella really didn't feel like retelling the story for the fourth time today. And she didn't think her mother would appreciate the fact she threw a pen at someone.

"Mr. Orfino just decided to assign partners and I drew the unlucky straw."

"Well that's unfortunate. I thought Troy would be your partner. I even made him some brownies." Ms. Montez pulled out two trays of freshly baked brownies from the oven. It amused Gabriella that her mom always baked for Troy. She never even baked for her.

"Mom, Troy practically lives here. He'll probably come over today anyways."

"You're right. You know it's funny that I see him more now than I did when you guys were actually going out. Who's his partner anyways?"

"Ryan."

Her mom perked up. "Oh, he likes my brownies too. Is he going to come over?"

"Mom! What's with you and my guy friends?"

"They're cute," her mom said simply. Gabriella put her face in her hand. "Oh, I think your friend is here." Gabriella glared at her mother before looking outside the kitchen window and saw the bright pink Mustang parked in her driveway.

"Here goes nothing." She got to the front door just as Sharpay rang the bell. She opened it to find Sharpay standing on her front step with the fakest smile plastered on her face. Resisting the urge to slap her, Gabriella stepped aside to let her in the house. "Mom, you remember Sharpay?" Before Ms. Montez could say anything, Sharpay threw her arms around her.

"Ms. Montez! Long time no see!" Gabriella watched in irritation as Sharpay hugged her mom. She didn't know why Sharpay continued her dramatic antics off stage as well. Everyone could see right through her.

"Nice to see you again, Sharpay." She pulled away and looked at her daughter. Gabriella took this as a cue to save her mom and grabbed Sharpay's arm, dragging her to the stairs.

"Um, let's go to my room." Sharpay reluctantly followed, clearly annoyed that Gabriella was touching her, but maintained her fake smile in front of Ms. Montez.

"It was nice talking to you. You have a _lovely_ home."

"Thank you." Gabriella's mom eyes were wide as she watched the two girls make their way upstairs. Once they were on the top landing, Sharpay ripped her arm away from Gabriella's hold.

"Wow," Gabriella commented as they entered her room. "Quite a show you put on down there." Sharpay glared at her.

"What? I was being polite."

"You were being fake. There's a difference."

"Whatever." She took a look around. "Cute room." Gabriella sat on her bed and watched Sharpay observing her room ready for the critique she knew would follow.

"I'm sure it's not as spacious or as pink as yours." Sharpay ignored the comment and walked towards the painting that was hanging on the wall by the bed. "Van Gogh's _Starry Night_, how cliché."

"Yeah, well not all of us have portraits of ourselves hanging in our rooms. And I'm surprised you even know who Van Gogh is."

"I am cultured, you smart ass, so let's get this stupid thing over with."

"Fine by me." She got off her bed and went to her desk. Sharpay opened her Prada backpack and took out a notebook and pen. Gabriella sifted through a bunch of her notes and research and handed Sharpay some papers.

"I divided the work so we don't actually have to work with each other until we put it all together. You'll do all the internet research. I figured you like that so you can check your fan mail or whatever. I'll do the book work. I was thinking we can do like a faux newspaper article sort of thing. Any questions?" Sharpay looked annoyed as she tossed the papers Gabriella handed her on the desk. She absolutely hated that Gabriella had just patronized her.

"Yeah, and at what point are you going to tell me exactly what we're doing this project on? Mr. Orfino gave us a whole bunch of stuff to choose from and it seems like I have no say on this."

Gabriella rubbed her forehead trying to fend off an oncoming headache. "Yeah, well I didn't have a say on who my partner was going to be."

"And that's _my_ fault?" She said pointing to herself. It annoyed Gabriella how Sharpay's voice always got an octave higher when she started arguing. It was like nails on a chalkboard.

"Yeah, it is," Gabriella stated simply.

"I'm not the one who threw a pen at you!" Sharpay was in her face again staring her down.

Gabriella got in her face as well. "Well I'm not the one who was looking at myself in the mirror during class blinding everyone in the classroom, you freaking narcissist!"

"Well excuse me if I want to look good!"

"What the hell kind of excuse is that?"

"You think you're so much better than everyone because you're so smart and you dated Troy Bolton. 'Look at me! I'm freaky math girl and I dated the most popular guy in school!'" Gabriella couldn't believe the bullshit coming out of Sharpay's mouth. What did dating Troy have to do with anything they were talking about? Gabriella had enough of Sharpay and all of her stupid ways of always trying to be right.

"What?! _I_ think I'm better than everyone? What about you Ms. I Control The Entire School? You don't care about anybody but yourself. You're the most self-centered person I ever had the displeasure of meeting and I feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with you. No one even likes you! They're just scared of you because you're such a vapid bitch!" She immediately regretted saying the last thing when she saw Sharpay flinch and take a step back. There was a moment of silence as the two girls just stared at each other.

"Ladies, this doesn't sound like you're working." Ms. Montez appeared at Gabriella's door.

Gabriella turned away from Sharpay. "Sorry, mom."

"Look I know you two have your differences but can you please be mature, be civil towards each other, and work on this project. It's important for the both of you."

"Yeah, sorry. We will." Her mom gave her a stern look before leaving. She turned to face Sharpay who now had her back to her. "I picked _Medea_. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah. Whatever." Sharpay didn't say anymore as she picked up her notebook and pen and went to Gabriella's computer. Gabriella sat at her desk and opened a book. Sighing, she took one more look at Sharpay and began working.

The two girls worked for 2 hours straight without talking to each other. Occasionally, Gabriella wanted to ask Sharpay how the research was going but decided against it. She was on her fifth page of notes when her cell phone rang breaking the silence in the room. She looked at her call ID and saw it was Troy.

"Hey, Troy."

"Hi! How's the project going?" He sounded extremely hyper.

"Swell, how's yours going?" She looked over at Sharpay who didn't seem to notice she was on the phone. She was still scrolling on the computer and jotting down notes.

"Well, we're not being very productive. After practice, Ryan, Chad, and I went out to eat. Then we went back to my house and played video games. Then Chad left to go meet Taylor for their project but really make out and do other not so G-rated things. And now Ryan and I are thinking of coming over to your house and eating some of your dinner." He said this all very fast that she could hardly keep up.

Gabriella laughed. "What are you talking about not being productive? I bet you guys got to the next level in whatever video game you were playing, right?" She could hear the smile in his voice.

"You know me too well. So can we can come over?" Gabriella looked over at Sharpay again.

"Well, um, I don't know." She scratched her head hoping Troy would know exactly what she was trying to say without actually saying it.

"Do you want Sharpay to leave before we come over?"

"Well…yeah." It would be extremely awkward if all four of them hung out.

"Okay, just call me when you guys are done." Gabriella suddenly heard noises in the background and something that sounded like it was being thrown.

"Son of a bitch!"

"Was that Ryan?"

"Yeah, he just died in the game. Okay bye, see you later."

"Bye." Gabriella put her phone down and looked over at the computer to find Sharpay looking back at her. She looked tired. "Hey, listen I think that we've done enough for today."

She ignored her. "Was my brother with Troy?"

"Yeah, they're partners and _not_ working on their English project."

"Go figure," Sharpay muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing. Anyways, yeah we've done enough." She stood up, grabbed her bag, and started walking out the door without waiting for Gabriella.

"So want to meet again on Saturday?" Gabriella asked, not really expecting her to say yes.

"Yeah sure. Does noon sound fine?"

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll see you then." She started walking Sharpay downstairs and to the front door.

Placing her hand the doorknob, Sharpay turned to face Gabriella. "Oh, and tell Ryan that it's a school night and our mom wants him home by 10." She gave Gabriella an unfathomable look and then exited her house.

Confused, Gabriella didn't know whether to feel guilty about not inviting Sharpay to stay for dinner, or relieved that she got through two hours working with her. She did feel guilty about what she said to her. Maybe she was imagining it, but Sharpay looked genuinely hurt by her words. Gabriella watched as Sharpay sped out of her neighborhood and then shut the front door.

"Mom! Troy and Ryan are coming over for dinner."

--&--&--&--

Gabriella and Troy were sitting on her balcony eating ice cream later that night after Ryan left. Troy was extra hyper because of the brownies him and Ryan ate after dinner. Now he was on his second bowl of ice cream.

"You know you're going to go into a sugar coma, right?" Gabriella said as she watched him eat the last spoonful.

"Well at least I'll be happy." He took his spoon and took some of Gabriella's ice cream that barely had a dent in it. "And what's with you, Ms. Quiet? You barely said a word at dinner."

"That's because you and Ryan were too busy laughing like hyenas about your project." She pulled her bowl away from him. He smiled.

"What? It's funny."

Gabriella gave him an "are you serious?" look. "You guys are doing a rap. You're the two whitest boys I know."

"Hey, Mr. Orfino said to be creative." She laughed when Troy did a gangster sign.

"You are so gangsta."

"Word. But really, what's up? I know you have something on your mind."

"Nothing, it's just been a long day. You know with Sharpay and everything."

"Yeah, how was the Queen of Mean?"

"Well we got into a fight and then we worked two hours straight without talking."

"Sounds like fun, but why are you all mopey all the sudden?" Gabriella stood up and started pacing.

"I don't know. It's just I think I kind of hurt her tonight." Troy gave her a confused look.

"Hurt her? How so? You didn't throw something at her again did you?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Shut up. I just said something in the lines of how I felt sorry for anyone who had to deal with her and that she was a…vapid bitch."

"Damn, Montez! You called her that?"

"Yeah, and then she sort of…" She shrugged her shoulders. "Flinched."

"Flinched? You're getting yourself all worked up because she flinched. Maybe she was just taken back that someone actually had the courage to talk back to her and put her in her place." Gabriella turned around and looked out her balcony.

"Maybe." She heard Troy get up and a second later he had his arms wrapped around her from behind. She leaned into him

"You're too nice, Gabriella. I bet you she's not even thinking about it anymore. Don't worry about it."

"Yeah, she's probably going to be her bitchy self on Saturday."

"Yeah, and then you'll be calling me bitching about her. What would I do with my Saturdays?" Gabriella elbowed him right in the gut. "Ugh, I just ate a tray of brownies and two bowls of ice cream. That was mean."

"Well that's what you get for being a smart ass."

"Where do you think I got _that_ from?" Gabriella went to elbow him again but this time he moved out of the way. "I have the reflexes of a wildcat!"

"And you need to get home. It's almost eleven." Gabriella showed him her watch.

"My parents won't care that I'm here this late. They only cared when we were dating. They thought we were doing the nasty." Troy started thrusting his hips in a lewd manner that made Gabriella laugh.

"Troy, we _were_ doing the nasty."

"Exactly."

"Alright, you have to leave. I have to go to bed." Troy kissed her on the forehead before jumping over the balcony and onto the tree. "You know the front door works fine."

"Yeah, but this is more fun." He jumped down and landed on his feet. "And remember--"

"--you have the reflexes of a wildcat, yeah, yeah go home, wildcat!"

"Tell your mom I say goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, he waved and then left.

Gabriella went back in her room and started to put away the research her and Sharpay were working on when she noticed that Sharpay left her notebook by her computer. Curious on how much notes she actually took, Gabriella opened the notebook and started reading.

The inside cover surprised her. Sharpay had written down a to-do list but it wasn't what Gabriella expected. It was more of a list of goals she wanted to accomplish.

**Apply to colleges  
Get into colleges  
Leave Albuquerque  
Graduate with first honors  
Finally meet someone who knows me**

The last line was underlined and Gabriella read it over and over again. "'Finally meet someone who knows me'?" _What did that mean? And she wants to graduate with first honors? Does Sharpay even have good grades?_ She always thought Sharpay paid off people to do her work.

She flipped through the pages and noticed not only was Sharpay actually a smart person, she took more notes than Gabriella did. They were so extensive that her eyes were swimming with the copious amount of research. She also noticed that Sharpay doodled in the margins. She was a fair artist. Gabriella was slightly irked that she and Sharpay had that in common. There was a faint sketch of _Starry Night_ on one of the pages. Another thing they had in common. _Cliché, my ass._

She moved the mouse on her computer and the screensaver disappeared. Her eyes went wide when she saw her desktop. All her files were gone.

Gabriella searched the trash bin to see if her files were in there but to her to dismay, the trash bin was absolutely empty.

She couldn't believe she actually felt sorry for Sharpay tonight. Trying not to flip out because she remembered something Taylor said about recovering deleted files, Gabriella turned off her computer and chucked Sharpay's notebook in her backpack.

Crashing into her bed, Gabriella turned off her light and closed her eyes. She went to sleep with thoughts of Sharpay.

The next day at school, Gabriella was determined to find Sharpay and give her an earful. And possibly a fistful. She only had one class with her and she didn't want to wait until third hour to confront her. And plus Mr. Orfino's no talking rule would never give her a chance to talk to Sharpay. Unless she wanted to throw another pen at her and get them both in trouble. Maybe it was worth it.

Not finding her in the usual spots, Gabriella went in search for Ryan. Where there was a Ryan, there was a Sharpay. Or was it the other way around?

Spotting Ryan with Troy, she went over to them.

"Hey Gab, what's up?"

"Have you seen your sister?"

"I haven't seen her since she left this morning. She woke me up and told me she had to be in school early so Troy gave me a ride since my car's currently not working" Gabriella groaned.

"What she do now?" Troy asked as he offered her some of his bagel he was currently stuffing in his mouth.

She refused the bagel. "She erased all my files on my computer, and do you ever stop eating?" Troy resembled a chipmunk with his mouth full.

"What? I'm hungry." Ryan smiled at him and then turned his attention back to Gabriella.

"She erased all your files? Damn, that's pretty bitchy." He thought for a second and then gave Gabriella a strange look. "I know my sister can be really mean, but she wouldn't do something like that. I mean she'd _do_ something like that, but she wouldn't _do_ it, you know?" Both Troy and Gabriella looked at him confused.

"What?" They both asked.

He shook his head. "Nevermind, are you sure she deleted them?"

"Yeah, they're not on my desktop where I save _everything_."

"Well, I'll go talk to her about it. I see her first hour."

"Thanks, Ryan. I can't believe she did that…Actually I can. Oh and give this to her, she left it at my house. See, I didn't throw it away like she would!" She handed Ryan Sharpay's notebook The bell rang and Gabriella stomped off to her first hour leaving Troy and Ryan even more scared of girls who were in bad moods.

Gabriella got to third hour a little earlier than usual as she waited for either Ryan or Sharpay to appear. She was hoping Sharpay would arrive first, but was disappointed when Ryan came through the door and headed towards her.

"What did she say?"

"She said she didn't delete them and that you're crazy and paranoid." Gabriella glared at him. Ryan put his hands up in defense. "Hey, don't kill the messenger. That was paraphrased. You don't want to hear the verbatim."

"She's a liar. So I just imagined my files not being there?" Ryan took a step back when Gabriella's voice started to get louder and angrier.

"You know for someone who doesn't like Sharpay, you two have the same 'I'm going to kill you' look."

"Don't compare me to her!"

"Gabriella, calm down." He put his hands together in a yoga pose and took a deep breath. "Breathe." She did just that.

"It's not working."

"Yeah it doesn't work for Sharpay either. Ow!" Gabriella had smacked him on the arm. "I just was just making an observation!"

"Hey! Don't break my partner. I won't be able to find a new one. What he do to you?" Troy asked walking in mid-smack.

"Your ex-girlfriend is mean!" Ryan feigned a hurt face and took off dramatically to his desk. Troy laughed at his antics.

"Hence EX. Ow!" Gabriella had just pinched him, too.

"Oh shut up, you eat a lot, you should have extra padding."

"Are you calling me fat?"

Gabriella gave him an exasperated look. "Do you look fat?"

"No." Ryan answered from his desk.

The classroom was nearly full now as the bell was about to ring but still no sign of Sharpay.

Gabriella took her seat and waited. At the very last second, Ms. Drama Queen strode into the classroom without even a glance at anyone and took her seat. Gabriella knew there was no point in trying to get her attention. She knew Sharpay would ignore her like she normally did. Throughout class, Gabriella daydreamed about throwing numerous objects at her.

--&--&--&--

If Gabriella didn't know any better, she thought Sharpay was deliberately avoiding her. She stormed out of third hour the minute the bell rang. She was nowhere to be found during free period. And she ate lunch at record speed and left.

Finally at the end of the day, Gabriella went to Sharpay's locker and waited for her.

"Are you stalking me or something?" Sharpay asked when she spotted Gabriella at her locker.

"Are you avoiding me?"

"I don't really care that much about you to avoid you." Gabriella stood in front of her locker so she couldn't open it. "Do you mind?"

"You deleted all my files off my computer." Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"No I didn't. Didn't Ryan tell you that?" She tried to get to her locker but Gabriella kept blocking it.

"Then why can't I find any of them on my computer?"

"I don't know, you don't know where to look?" She tried again but Gabriella wouldn't move.

"It's not there."

"Yes it is, now move!" She grabbed Gabriella's arms and pushed her aside. Gabriella was surprised at the strength Sharpay had as she practically man handled her out of the way. She sighed in defeat and started to leave. "Wait." Gabriella stopped and looked at Sharpay not really expecting anything. "Do you want me to come over and show you that I, in fact, did _not_ delete your files?"

She thought for a second. "Yeah."

"You need a ride home?"

"What?" Did she hear her right?

"Isn't that where we're going? Do you need a ride?" Gabriella looked at her as if she grew two heads.

Is Sharpay Evans really offering to take her home? She had no idea why, but she accepted.

"Sure, let me just go find Troy."

"Don't bother, Ryan told me to tell you that Troy and him are going to work on their project at my house."

"Really?" She crossed her arms across her chest. "So you knew you were going to talk to me today and that I needed a ride?"

"I told you, I wasn't avoiding you." Sharpay shut her locker and started walking, not waiting for Gabriella. "My car's this way." She was a little surprised that Sharpay agreed to take her home. She could have simply refused when Ryan asked her.

Sharpay unlocked the doors as they approached her car. "Put your crap in the back and try not to ruin my seats." Gabriella rolled her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time as she put her backpack in the back and got into the passenger seat. She was slightly embarrassed to be sitting in car that look like it was purchased in the Barbie section of Toys 'R' Us.

"Why is everything you own so pink?"

"Because it's my favorite color." Sharpay adjusted the rearview mirror but not before she checked her own reflection.

"So? My favorite color is blue and you don't see me looking like a Smurf." Sharpay let out a little laugh to which Gabriella involuntarily smiled at.

"Wouldn't you be a Smurfette?" Gabriella looked over at Sharpay and saw that she had a little smile on her lips.

--&--&--&--

Gabriella sat down at her computer and turned it on. Once everything was loaded she showed Sharpay her empty desktop.

"See? No files." Sharpay looked at her with the most irked expression.

"I thought you were supposed to be smart."

Gabriella was really getting sick of this. She just wanted to know where the hell her files were. "What does that have to do with you erasing my files?" Sharpay threw her hands in the air in annoyance.

"For the last time, I didn't delete your files. Haven't you heard of things called folders?" Gabriella looked confused and glanced back at her computer screen. "Your lack of organization on your computer made me put all your files in folders in your documents."

Gabriella was surprised. "You _organized_ my files?"

"Yeah, I was done taking notes and your desktop was so cluttered that I took the liberty to organize them. I'm surprised you didn't do it yourself. Do you not know how to use a computer?"

"I'm more of a pen and paper girl. I'm never on the computer. I don't even know how to check my e-mail." It was Sharpay's turn to look surprised.

"I think you're the only person I know who doesn't have their computer as a lifeline. What do you do with your time?"

Gabriella shrugged. "Study."

"Wow, you really are a geek."

"Whatever, will you just tell me where you put all my stuff?" Sharpay rolled her eyes and made her way over to the computer. Shuffling Gabriella a bit to the side, she reached over Gabriella's left shoulder and grabbed the mouse.

Gabriella jumped a little at the sudden contact. "What the hell are you doing?" She asked moving a little to her right.

"I'm left-handed and it's a right-handed world."

"Well, do you want me to move?" Sharpay didn't say anything as she continued to click on the mouse. Gabriella didn't know whether to move or stay put. Sharpay was pretty close to her. Really close that she could actually smell her.

She expected her nostrils to be assaulted by the potent smell of some designer perfume but instead Sharpay smelled like…

"Lavender and laundry detergent?"

"What?"

Did she just say that out loud?

"Oh nothing." Sharpay gave her a weird look.

"Oookay, here. There are your files." She gave Gabriella back full reigns of the computer. "Oh I also bookmarked all the internet sites I went on last night so we can pull them up easily for the bibliography."

Gabriella looked at her computer and saw that Sharpay not only put her files in folders, but she also renamed all of them. It shocked her that Sharpay was more organized that she was. She didn't think that was possible. Gabriella stared at her computer screen for a few moments not really knowing what to say. She was slightly embarrassed that Sharpay outsmarted her at something as stupid as putting files in folders. She could feel Sharpay staring at the back of her head.

"So," she turned around to face her. "You're done with all the research?"

"Pretty much." Sharpay said with an annoyed voice. "Are you done with yours?"

Not willingly to admit that Sharpay was actually ahead of her in the project, Gabriella went over to backpack and took out her notebook. "Well, we can compare notes and see what we have and we can start putting it together tomorrow."

"Alright." Sharpay took the notebook away from her.

"Hey!"

Sharpay ignored her as she flipped through Gabriella's notes. "Well, we pretty much have the same information. Mine is more extensive of course. Cute drawings." She indicated one of Gabriella's doodles that looked like Grecian woman. "Is that supposed to be Medea?"

"Yes, I thought we could put a drawing in our newspaper article." She said defensively.

"That's a good idea."

"Well, it's not like—wait what?" Did she actually agree with her?

"I said it's a good idea. And I was thinking that we should also present a little newscast to the class along with the newspaper. We can be like co-anchors or something." She tossed Gabriella her notebook.

Gabriella was shocked. She thought this project would take longer, but it seemed like Sharpay already had everything planned out. She wasn't used to being told what to do in a school project. She usually was the one who thought of everything and organized everything. Now here was Sharpay Evans taking over like she usually did. But on some level, Gabriella didn't really mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two:

The next few days were, for a lack of a better word, weird. Gabriella was seeing Sharpay in a different light. A tolerable one. She was not nearly as annoying as she was before. In fact, she was actually pleasant to work with. Sure they still butted heads but Gabriella wasn't used to working with someone who was completely focused on the assignment and was hardly ever distracted. She was used to working with Troy who was like a little kid with ADD.

The two girls were working on the project on a Saturday night and they were exhausted. Gabriella rubbed her temples as she re-did the sketch of the Grecian woman on her sketchpad for what seemed like the millionth time. It was times like these that Gabriella hated being a perfectionist. She looked over at Sharpay who was now writing their faux article on a scroll that they had made. She also looked frustrated.

"How's the scroll going?"

"Long. It's frustrating because it's not like I can start over if I mess up. It took us forever to make this look like a scroll." Gabriella went over to her and looked at what she had so far.

"It looks good. Very authentic."

"Thanks, how's the sketch going?"

"Also frustrating." She showed Sharpay her sketchpad.

"That looks fine, just needs a little fine tuning."

"The curse of being perfectionists." Gabriella went back to her desk and sighed. She was starving. She hadn't eaten since lunch. "Are you hungry? My mom said we can order pizza."

"It's nearly 11, who delivers this late? And plus pizza would go straight to my thighs." Gabriella looked her up and down wondering what exactly Sharpay saw when she looked in the mirror.

"There's a pizza place that's open until three in the morning, and what thighs? You're a toothpick." Sharpay gave her a "so what" look.

"Fine, I'll order you a salad." She left the room and went downstairs.

"With low-fat dressing!" Sharpay yelled after her.

Sharpay threw her calligraphy pen down and rubbed her eyes. They were swimming. She looked over at Gabriella's bed and was tempted to just curl up in it and fall asleep. It looked so soft and inviting. Sharpay got up and started walking towards the bed when Gabriella's cell phone rang making her jump. Looking at the call ID, she saw that it was Troy. She was debating on whether to answer it or not when Gabriella walked back in just as the phone went to voicemail.

"Hey, Troy just called." Sharpay told her handing her the cell phone.

Gabriella took the phone and looked at it. "I'll call him back later. Food should be here in 20 minutes." She went to back to her desk and continued sketching. Sharpay didn't go back to work but instead stood by Gabriella kind of hovering. Gabriella noticed this and turned to look at her. "Something wrong?" Sharpay eyes fell on the framed photo of Gabriella and Troy on her desk.

"Why did you guys break up?" She finally asked. Gabriella looked at the photo and suddenly got defensive.

"I don't think that's any of your business." Sharpay never really cared if it was her business or not, she always pried.

"It's just, you guys still act like you're together. He calls you everyday, you still hang out, and you guys still act all…coupley. Exes don't do that."

Gabriella hated when people referred to them as exes. It seemed so mean like they had a horrible break up. "We're not just 'exes,' we're still best friends. We're just not together anymore."

"But why? You guys seem so perfect." Gabriella looked at Sharpay annoyed, and tried to steer the conversation elsewhere.

"I'm surprised you didn't go after him the minute we broke up. I thought you'd be all over him." Sharpay let out a laugh.

"Please, Troy is so last year and plus, I didn't—" She stopped herself. "I wasn't interested anymore."

Gabriella put her pencil down and crossed her arms across her chest. "Troy's 'so last year?' I wasn't aware that he was a fashion trend."

"I just meant that I've moved on to other things."

"Other things? Like what?" Gabriella was glad that they stopped talking about her and Troy.

"Other things. Have you moved on from Troy?"

_Damn._

She sighed. "Troy and I both wanted different things, okay? Things that we couldn't find with each other. That's why we broke up." There was a finality in her voice

But Sharpay kept pushing. "Different things?"

Why was she so interested? "Sharpay, I really don't want to talk about this anymore. Can we get back to work?"

Sharpay ceased her inquiries as she went back to the computer desk. They worked in silence until the pizza guy came with the pizza and salad. Gabriella walked in with the food and two cans of Coke, one diet and one regular, and set it on the floor of her room.

"Dinner's served." She handed Sharpay her salad and opened up the pizza box. The smell was intoxicating as Gabriella took a slice. Sharpay watched her as she ate the pizza. She wondered how Gabriella can look that good when she ate this kind of food.

"What kind of pizza is that?" Sharpay asked looking at the pizza with her mouth watering.

"A supreme. It's got pretty much everything on it." Gabriella looked at her and almost laughed. "Why? Do you want a slice?" Sharpay looked at her salad and diet Coke and thought for a moment.

"Just a slice." She grabbed a piece and brought it to her mouth. Gabriella watched her intently as if she was an infant about to take her first step. Sharpay took a bite and chewed. "My God, this is like the best thing I've ever put in my mouth." Gabriella burst out laughing.

"I'm not going to touch that line with a ten foot pole." Sharpay blushed realizing what she had just said.

"I just meant it's really good." She took another bite. "I really don't know why I'm on this diet. It prevents me from eating food like this."

"Then get off the diet. Sharpay, you have a really nice body." Sharpay raised her eyebrows at the comment and Gabriella bit her lip realizing, what she just said. "I mean, you don't need to be on a diet." Sharpay looked at her body.

"I know. I just like eating healthy."

"You can indulge from time to time." Gabriella waved another slice of pizza in her face. The two girls finished the medium pizza in about 15 minutes leaving the salad forgotten.

"I feel like I just ate an entire horse." Sharpay said as she patted her stomach.

"Want dessert?" She, too, was full. It amazed Gabriella how Troy ate so much and still had room for dessert. She couldn't even think of food at the moment.

"God, no." She stifled a yawn. "What time is it?" Gabriella looked at her watch.

"It's almost 12."

"I should be getting…" Another yawn. "Home."

"Why don't you just sleep over? You're too tired to drive home and I'd rather not have your driving accident on my conscience." Sharpay chucked a napkin at her.

"Thanks for your concern, but I can't sleep in these." She indicated her clothes.

"I'll lend you some pajamas. And we have extra toothbrushes and stuff." Gabriella got up and went to her dresser. Pulling out a pair of East High shorts and one of her shirts she handed them to Sharpay. She took the shirt and looked at it. "What's the matter?"

"Do you have anything bigger?" Gabriella arched her eyebrow.

"Bigger?"

"That's not what I meant I just tend to sleep in oversized shirts. They're more comfortable."

Gabriella went over to her closet and found a much larger shirt and gave it to her. Sharpay noticed that it was a guy's shirt.

"This is Troy's, isn't it?"

"Yeah, he left a bunch of shirts here and I never gave them back. And yes, they are comfortable."

"Thanks."

"No problem." Gabriella left to put away the pizza box and cans of coke.

Coming back to her room, she found Sharpay only in her bra and shorts. Gabriella blinked and opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She knew she shouldn't have been staring awkwardly. She knew she should have left to go to the bathroom or something, but the only thing running through her mind was that little mole that Sharpay had below her collarbone. Gabriella finally snapped out of her reverie when Sharpay spoke. By that time, she had already put on the shirt.

"Are the extra toothbrushes in the bathroom?" She just nodded as Sharpay moved passed her on the way to the bathroom.

Gabriella ran her hands through her hair as she tried to figure out what just happened. She was completely confused on why she reacted the way she did. She shook her head. She was just tired and was working too long.

When Sharpay came back in, Gabriella was shocked to see that she had removed her make-up and put her hair in a ponytail. The entire time she's known her, Gabriella couldn't remember when she saw Sharpay without make-up. Gabriella stared awkwardly again. She was looking at her eyes that she, for the first time, realized were brown.

"What are you looking at?" Sharpay asked somewhat perturbed. Gabriella looked away.

"Nothing. It's just, I'm not used to seeing you—"

"Looking like crap?"

Gabriella let out a breath that she didn't notice she was holding. "No, just without all that make-up. And I don't think you look like crap." Sharpay just stared at her wondering why Gabriella was acting all weird and giving her compliments. First, about having a nice body and now this.

"Well, I'm tired and about to pass out." She made her way over to the bed and climbed in the side closest to the window.

Gabriella was about to turn off the lights when she looked over at Sharpay and asked, "You don't have any weird sleeping habits, do you?"

"No, not that I know of."

"Good, because if you snore or drool or move around a lot, I _will_ push you off the bed."

"Oh please, like Troy didn't snore."

"Yeah, he did, and he ended up on the floor a lot of times." She reached over and turned off the light.

"Wait, did you and Troy _do it_ on this bed?" Gabriella didn't say anything. "Ew!" Sharpay jumped out of the bed and started wiping herself as if she was trying to get dirt off of her.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Oh my God, grow up. I've changed the sheets since then." She pulled the covers back, inviting Sharpay back in. "Unless you want to sleep on the floor. Troy said it's not comfortable." Sharpay pouted as she got back in. "Goodnight, Sharpay."

"Night."

--&--&--&--

Sharpay didn't know what woke her up the next morning, but it took her a while to remember where she was. Gabriella's room was still dark and she heard rain and thunder coming from outside. She squinted her eyes when she saw movement by the window. Sharpay saw a dark figure standing by her side and without thinking, let out a scream.

"Ahhh!"

The dark figure screamed as well. "Ahhh!"

"What's going on?" Gabriella's panicked voice came through the screams. She turned on the lights and saw Troy standing by the window soaking wet from the rain. Sharpay was hiding under the covers.

"What are you doing here?!" Sharpay screamed when she realized it was Troy. He jumped back thinking she was going to attack him.

"Troy likes to come over whenever he wants to." Gabriella explained.

"Through your _window_?"

"Yeah, and what are _you_ doing here?" Troy went over to Gabriella's side trying to avoid Sharpay.

"Troy! You're getting my floor all wet." Gabriella got up, got a towel, and threw it over Troy's head. He dried his hair and threw the towel back at her.

"Is that my shirt?" He asked Sharpay who finally emerged from the blankets. She glared at him. "Why is she wearing my shirt?" He asked Gabriella.

Gabriella took him by the arm and led him outside her room. "Troy just go downstairs and go eat some of my mom's breakfast. I'm pretty sure she's making pancakes."

"Pancakes? Sweet!" He sped downstairs. Gabriella looked over at Sharpay who was still recovering from Troy's appearance.

"You okay in there?"

Sharpay put her hand to her chest. "Yeah, I think my heart rate has returned to normal." Gabriella laughed.

"Yeah sorry about that, Troy likes to climb the tree by my balcony when he comes over."

"And that's normal to you?"

She shrugged. "He does it all the time."

Sharpay sat up. "And _why_ are you guys not together anymore? You're both so equally weird."

"I already told you."

"Still doesn't make him climbing through your window any less strange."

Gabriella sighed. "Look, Troy's a great guy. Actually he's nothing short of amazing, but we're just better off friends. There wasn't any real chemistry between us."

Sharpay arched her eyebrow disbelieving. "Didn't you guys sleep together?"

"Well, yeah. It was great, don't get me wrong. There was just something missing. I thought it would get better, but it was always felt the same. I mean, it was just really… comfortable, but there wasn't any spark or passion." Gabriella stopped herself, realizing she was just sharing her sex life with Sharpay.

"What are you fifty? Passion and spark? It's sex!"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I guess it was like, this may sound really weird, but it was like if you were having sex with your brother…but not."

"Ew!" Sharpay gagged. "Ew! Seriously, I did NOT need to know that." Gabriella laughed.

"Your brother _is_ hot." Sharpay covered her ears.

"Shut up! Just… stop talking." She threw a pillow at her. "Seriously, I do not need that in my head." Gabriella was cracking up. "Ugh, I wish I can gauge out my mind's eye."

"Well you kept asking."

"Too much information, Gabriella. Too much." Gabriella got back into the bed and sat next to Sharpay.

"So…you want to stay for breakfast?" There was a hint of hope in her voice. Sharpay looked at her and saw that hope in her eyes. She bit her lip not really knowing what to say then turned her attention to the clock on Gabriella's nightstand.

"Um, actually I should be getting home. My mom probably thinks I died in this storm."

"Oh okay." She could tell Gabriella was disappointed. And honestly, she was a bit disappointed too.

"I'm just gonna go get changed." Sharpay got out the bed and headed to the bathroom. Gabriella let out a long sigh once she left the room. She had no idea why she was feeling this way. She had no idea why there were knots in her stomach or why her heart felt all light. Gabriella brought the pillow Sharpay was laying on to her face. It smelled like lavender and laundry detergent. Like Sharpay.

--&--&--&--

Gabriella walked Sharpay to the front door and stood there awkwardly when Sharpay finally spoke.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." Sharpay opened the door and braced herself for the rain.

"Hey, what are you doing later today?" Gabriella suddenly asked.

"I don't know. Why?"

"Well I was thinking we could--_hang out_-- um, work on the project."

"Yeah okay." Sharpay surprised herself at how readily she agreed.

"What? I mean, yeah cool." Gabriella wasn't really expecting Sharpay to say yes.

"Okay, well I'll come by around two?"

"That sounds good."

"Alright I'll see you then." Sharpay turned around and started to walk out into the rain.

"Wait, here take this." Gabriella handed her one of her zip ups that was hanging on the coat rack by the door. "So you don't get yourself wet." Sharpay took it and smiled.

"Thanks." She finally left the house and ran to her car. Gabriella watched her as she drove away. Sharpay gave her a little wave right before she pulled out of the driveway. She waved back and smiled. She didn't really know how long she was standing there with her hand still waving when she felt Troy come up behind her.

"So why did she sleep over?" Gabriella turned around and saw Troy holding a fork and a plate stacked with what looked like seven chocolate chip pancakes smothered in syrup. She rolled her eyes as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Did you at least leave me some?" He followed her forking mouthfuls into his mouth.

"Your mom's making more. And you didn't answer my question." Gabriella entered the kitchen, grabbed a plate, and went over to the stove where her mom was.

"Morning mom, sorry for the little screaming fiasco earlier." Her mom put two pancakes on her plate.

"That's okay, I figured it was Troy." Ms. Montez eyed him.

"What? You act like I've never done it before." Gabriella shook her head and made her way to the dining table. Troy followed her but not before filling his plate with more pancakes. He sat down across from her.

"So you want to tell me why she slept over?" He asked again.

Gabriella played around with her pancakes not looking at Troy. "We were working on the project late and she was too tired to drive home."

"So want to tell me the real reason why she slept over?"

She looked up. "What are you talking about?"

Troy stabbed his pancakes with the fork. "I mean she does live only 12 minutes away."

Gabriella put her chin on her hand and eyed Troy up and down. "12 minutes exactly?"

"Yeah."

"And how would you know that?" It was Troy's turn to play with his pancakes.

"That's how long it takes me to get to the Evans' when I go to work on the project with Ryan."

"Right."

"Anyways, we're not talking about me, we're talking about you."

"I thought we were just talking."

"You're a smart ass."

"That's why you love me."

"Can't argue with the truth." He reached over and tried to take some of Gabriella's pancakes but she pulled her plate away.

"Seriously, Troy, you had nine."

"So?"

She gave him a disapproving look as she gave him some of her pancakes. "Oh, to be a bottomless pit."

"So what are we doing today?" He asked when he finally stopped eating.

"Actually, I have other plans." Troy put his hand to his heart and feigned a hurt look.

"Without telling me? I thought we told each other everything!" Troy put his head in his hands and started to sob.

"You know, I think you're hanging out with Ryan too much. You're starting to act like him."

"Look who's talking." He muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing. Who are your plans with?"

Gabriella's face lit up a little. "Sharpay and I are going to work on the project some more."

"Touché."

"What?"

"Nothing, so you saw Sharpay last night." He started counting off his fingers. "She slept over and now you're seeing her again?" Gabriella started fidgeting and playing with the loose thread on her pants.

"So?"

"You sure you don't want to tell me anything?" Troy's eyes pierced right through her. She got up and started putting away her plate.

"Troy, I _really_ don't know what you're talking about." He followed her into the kitchen.

"And I'm _really_ not as dumb as you think I am."

"I beg to differ."

"I resent that." She laughed as she grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. Troy took her arm and turned her around so they were facing each other. He looked her in the eyes, all joking aside. "But, Gabriella, you know you can tell me anything right? I'm always here to listen." Gabriella looked into Troy's eyes and saw the genuine concern. She wanted to tell him what she was feeling but she had no idea exactly what it was.

"I know, Troy. But just let me deal with whatever this is by myself first, okay?"

"Alright."

--&--&--&--

Gabriella had no idea why she started to get really nervous as two o'clock started to approach. She started rearranging her room for no reason. She put all her books in different places and all her picture frames in size order. Gabriella took a step back and looked at what she just did.

"What the hell am I doing?" She asked her newly arranged room. Gabriella groaned as she started to put everything back the way it was. She hadn't even noticed the time when she heard her mother's voice coming from downstairs.

"Gabriella! Sharpay's here!" Gabriella immediately rushed to her mirror and checked herself to make sure she looked decent before going downstairs. She could hear her mom talking with Sharpay when she reached the bottom landing.

"I swear, Sharpay, you're here just as much as Troy is these days." Sharpay smiled.

"Don't worry, Ms. Montez. I promise I won't be climbing through Gabriella's window anytime soon." Gabriella laughed at the thought of Sharpay trying to climb the tree. "Oh hey." She just took notice of Gabriella standing on the landing of the stairs. "I was just telling your mom that I won't be pulling a Troy anytime soon."

"That's good because I don't think this household can handle another Troy when we already have a Ryan."

"That's true."

"You girls going to be working on your project?"

"Yeah, and if we're lucky, we'll probably finish it." Sharpay followed Gabriella up the stairs and into her room. "So the only thing we have to do is put your sketch and the scroll together in some semblance, and we're done." She gingerly took out the rolled scroll from her bag and handed it to Gabriella.

Gabriella carefully unraveled and read it. "Wow, this is really good. I really like your penmanship. It actually looks like it's from the Greek ages." Sharpay was used to being praised but coming from Gabriella, it seemed so much different. It was actually sincere.

"Can I see your sketch?" Sharpay asked indicating the sketchpad on Gabriella's dresser. She opened it and was utterly impressed. Sharpay was never the type of person to give out compliments, but the sketch was unbelievable.

Gabriella bit her lip waiting for Sharpay's reaction. She had no idea why, but she wanted Sharpay to like it and thought she'd be devastated if she didn't.

"Gabriella, this is amazing. The shading and the light and everything. If we don't get an A on creativity alone, I'm going to be really mad." Gabriella's face lit up at Sharpay's words.

The two girls put their finished projects together and held it up to examine it.

"Wow." They said simultaneously.

"This is probably the best project I've ever done with a partner."

"Yeah, me too. Ironically it's with you of all people." It wasn't meant to be an insult because Gabriella couldn't agree more. She remembered when they first started the project thinking that it was going to end in disaster and they'd both fail. "Oh, I actually also wrote the script for the newscast we're going to do in class. Read it and tell me what you think of it." Sharpay went to her bag and took out three pieces of paper stapled together and handed it to Gabriella.

Gabriella took it and sat on her bed. Sharpay sat next to her and they both started looking over it. As she read on, Gabriella became increasingly impressed at how well put together the script was. For all her glamour and dramatics, Sharpay was a surprisingly good writer. She turned to tell Sharpay exactly that and stopped. She had no idea how close they were sitting. Sharpay's head was bent low, eyes moving over the pages and seemed to be blissfully unaware of how Gabriella's heart rate just started beating double time. They were just close enough for Gabriella to feel strands of blonde hair tickling her nose. And if Sharpay were to turn her head just now, their noses would be touching.

Gabriella could smell her. Lavender and laundry detergent. She didn't think she'd ever tire of that smell. And up this close, it was intoxicating. She leaned closer to get more of it, simultaneously aware of how hot her body had suddenly become and that she was probably about to cross some serious boundaries. Sharpay chose that moment to look up, done with the reading. Wide brown eyes stared right back at her. Gabriella stopped breathing.

"This is really good." Gabriella's voice was shaky and she swallowed.

Sharpay looked equally as shaken. "What's good?"

_You. Me. This close._ "This script. It's good. Really, really, really good."

An amused expression crossed Sharpay's face. "One 'really' would have been enough." She moved closer.

"Yeah?" Gabriella breathed.

"Yeah."

Gabriella's gaze fell to Sharpay's mouth. She bit her lip, closed her eyes, and let herself fall.

She kept falling as Sharpay kissed her. Her lips were soft and tasted sweet. She was warm, hot. She felt Sharpay's tongue graze over her lips as she parted them. Gabriella felt like her entire body was on fire when Sharpay wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer. Their bodies were touching now. They had no idea how long they were kissing when Gabriella's door swung open. Sharpay jumped up so quickly that Gabriella didn't have the time to register what just happened. Her mom just entered the room.

"Hey ladies, how's the project going?" Sharpay was flushed as she started to gather her things.

"It's going great, actually we're done. I have to go now, it's late." She said all this very fast, not looking at Gabriella.

"Late? What? Sharpay…" Gabriella had gotten up and started following her around the room as she gathered her things.

"Yeah, I have to be home." She indicated her wrist that had no watch on it and started to leave the room. "Don't worry, I'll walk myself out. See you, Ms. Montez." Ms. Montez didn't think anything of Sharpay's strange behavior as she watched her leave the room.

"Sharpay!" Gabriella called but she already heard the front door close. She sat back on her bed in disbelief.

"So you guys are all done?" Her mom asked. Gabriella just stared ahead trying to wrap her mind around on what just happened a minute ago.

"Yeah…we're all done."


	3. Chapter 3

Part Three:

Gabriella was lying in her bed thinking about what happened between her and Sharpay. They kissed. How did that happen? Where did all these feelings come from? Why Sharpay of all people? Gabriella went over to her radio and put on a CD. Finding the track number she wanted to listen to, she pressed play and lay back down in her bed. Closing her eyes, she let the mellow sound of an acoustic guitar fill the room. She absolutely hated this kind of music but the lyrics were exactly how she felt.

_Falling for you was the last thing I came to do. Your blonde hair and striking eyes gave me no chance to change my mind_

"I thought you had plans today?"

Gabriella opened her eyes and saw Troy standing at her doorway. "Then how'd you know to come over?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I was in the neighborhood."

Gabriella raised her eyebrows not believing him.

Troy gave her a sheepish smile. "I wanted to see if your mom could make me more brownies." He walked over to her and indicated the song playing on her radio. "So what's up emo girl?" She didn't look at him.

"Nothing."

"Really? Because you're listening to emo rock. _Acoustic_ emo rock. I didn't think you even owned an emo song." Gabriella reached over and turned off the radio. She sat up on her bed and crossed her arms.

"Okay, maybe something is up." Troy sat down in bed next to her and put an arm around her. She leaned on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a few moments before Gabriella spoke. "Did you know that Sharpay has brown eyes?" Troy looked down at her.

"No, I didn't."

"I always thought they were blue, you know? Because she has blonde hair and light skin."

"Ryan has blue eyes." Troy stated offhand.

"Yeah, and they're twins, but she has brown eyes." Gabriella stopped talking and just stared off into space.

"Why the sudden interest in Sharpay's eyes?" Troy asked, although he already knew the answer. Gabriella sat up and faced Troy.

"I think I'm falling for her." She braced herself for Troy's reaction. She thought he'd freak out or something but he remained perfectly fine.

"Really?"

Gabriella was confused. "You don't seem surprised."

He smiled at her. "Gabriella, I've known for some time."

"How could you have possibly known for some time when I just found out myself?"

"Gabriella, you keep forgetting that I know you better than anyone. Even more than you know yourself."

She thought for a second. "Yeah, that's true. But what gave it away? I mean, I hated Sharpay."

"Actually, that was the first clue."

Gabriella looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Since when does hating someone constitute as an attraction?"

"Since kindergarten. Come on, Gabriella. It's the classic 'I push you on the playground because I like you' bit. Sharpay got under your skin more than anyone in the entire world. You always pointed out all her flaws and took time to insult her whenever you could. You talk about her all the time, and you don't even know it. And Ryan tells me she does the same thing about you. You two are so attracted to each other, I'm surprise that the entire school doesn't know."

Gabriella wondered how exactly Troy deduced this all by himself. He sometimes was more intuitive than a girl. Even though all the things he said made sense, the only thing that lingered in her head was what Ryan said about Sharpay talking about her as much as she talked about Sharpay.

She sighed. "We kissed today."

Troy's smile was huge as he raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. "Really? And how was that?"

Gabriella threw a pillow at him. "Shut up, it wasn't like that. It was really sweet, you know?"

He gave her an understanding look. "So, what happened?"

Gabriella threw her hands up in frustration. "That's the thing, I don't know. My mom walked in and Sharpay bolted. We didn't even get a chance to talk and I have no idea what she's thinking. I mean she kissed me, but what if she thinks it was a mistake and that she regretted it? Maybe it was a mistake." She looked down at her hands.

Troy lifted her chin to look into her eyes. "Do _you_ think it was a mistake?"

"No, I don't. It was…I don't even have the word to describe how it felt. I'm so confused, Troy. Does this mean I'm gay?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe or maybe not. You might just be one of those people who are attracted to the person and not the gender. But remember one of the reasons we broke up was because we didn't feel that connection. Maybe this is why."

"Maybe." She looked at Troy apprehensively. "Would you care if I was gay? Like would it bother you?"

"Bother me? Why would it bother me? Gabriella, I don't care if you're attracted to girls, boys, or monkeys. I'm going to love you no matter what and will always be here for you, got it?"

She smiled at him and leaned back on his shoulder. "Got it."

"Good." He put his arm back around her.

"Me and Sharpay. Talk about opposites attract."

"Actually, you guys aren't exactly opposites." Troy pointed out.

Gabriella looked at him in disbelief. "Are you serious? We're different as can be."

Troy shook his head and disagreed. "You guys actually have a lot of things in common."

"Like what?"

"Let's see," Troy started counting off his fingers. "You're both really smart. You know what you want and you go after it. You guys are so fricking stubborn. You both take pride in everything you do. You always have to be right even when you're wrong. You both have short tempers especially when it comes to Ryan and me. Shall I go on?"

Gabriella didn't know whether to slap him or hug him. It seemed like she had more in common with Sharpay than she thought. Gabriella threw her arms around Troy and gave him a hug.

"Thanks, Troy."

"No problem. I thought you were going to hit me." She laughed into his shirt when she noticed something odd.

"You smell funny."

Troy looked offended. "Hey! I showered this morning."

"No, not a bad smell. Just a familiar smell, but I can't put my finger on it." She looked at his shirt. "Is this your shirt?" Troy looked down at the plain white t-shirt he had on, trying to figure out what Gabriella was talking about.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" Gabriella sniffed it. "What, are you a dog?" This time he got a smack.

"You just don't smell like your usual self. You smell almost…flowery?" She couldn't figure it out but she's smelled something like that before. It wasn't the exact scent but it was quite identical. Troy suddenly got up and got out of the bed.

"I'm going to go see if your mom is done with those brownies." He looked a little nervous when he left the room.

She gave him a contemplative look. "Alright."

--&--&--&--

Gabriella wasn't looking forward to school. She wanted to talk to Sharpay but she didn't think Sharpay would be as receptive. It wasn't a surprise when Gabriella couldn't find her anywhere before classes started. She had to wait until third hour again. Hopefully she can catch her either before or after class.

She walked into third hour and took her seat. Sharpay, of course, arrived right when the bell rang which gave Gabriella no time to talk to her.

Mr. Orfino walked into the classroom. "Alright, class, you all should be done or near done with your projects for it is due in two days. If anyone is done, we can start presentations tomorrow. So do we have any volunteers?"

To Gabriella's surprise, Sharpay raised her hand. "Gabriella and I would like to present tomorrow, Mr. Orfino."

"I'm glad that you and Ms. Montez were able to work together. I am looking forward to your presentation." Sharpay didn't even turn around to look at Gabriella for approval.

The rest of class was just taking notes and reading. Gabriella could barely pay attention because she was trying so hard to get Sharpay's attention without talking, which proved to be nearly impossible. At one point, Gabriella tried to yell at Sharpay with her mind hoping that telepathy was actually possible. She sighed with frustration as she looked over to Troy who gave her a sympathetic look.

The bell finally rang and Gabriella made a beeline towards Sharpay who was faster than she looked. She practically had to chase her out of the classroom almost losing her to the many students in the hallway.

"Sharpay!" She called out but she didn't turn around. Gabriella sprinted and bumped into many annoyed people when she finally caught up with Sharpay. She stopped right in front of her. Sharpay jumped with surprise at Gabriella's sudden appearance.

"Holy crap, where the hell did you come from?"

Gabriella tried to catch her breath. "I want to talk to you." Sharpay started walking again and Gabriella tried with difficulty to keep up.

"Yeah, I don't think we need to meet to go over the presentation. All we're doing is reading from a script." She stared straight ahead not looking at Gabriella.

"I'm not talking about the project, I'm talking about yesterday. Me and you."

"I don't want to talk about it." Her voice was harsh.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't, okay? So drop it."

Gabriella grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side. "We have to talk about it."

Sharpay ripped her arm away. "No we don't." She looked at Gabriella with a stone cold expression.

Gabriella felt a little pang in her heart as Sharpay stared at her with no emotion. "You can't act like it didn't happen."

"I'm an actress. It's what I do." She pushed pass Gabriella and left without looking back. Gabriella just stood there watching her leave. She bit her lip, trying hard to control her emotions. She had no idea whether to scream, cry, or punch something.

She didn't know why she was surprised at Sharpay's reaction. What did she expect? Did she think that Sharpay was just going to run into her open arms and tell her that they should be together? Gabriella didn't even know if she wanted to be _with_ Sharpay. She just wanted to know what Sharpay was feeling. Did she like her as well? You don't kiss someone with that much passion and have it mean nothing.

_How can she act like it didn't happen? Is she just going to avoid me from now on and never approach the subject ever again? How are we suppose to present tomorrow when she won't even look at me?_

Gabriella was scattered-brain for the rest of the day. Twice she got in trouble in class for not paying attention. She even got a detention because she got an answer completely wrong and snapped at the teacher. By lunch, Gabriella felt like crying in frustration. She didn't have an appetite as she took her seat at the cafeteria table. No one knew what was going on except for Troy so he warned everyone to tread carefully around her.

Gabriella put her head on her arms as she just stared blankly ahead. She could tell that Taylor and Chad were looking to Troy for any indication if it was safe to talk to her. She didn't want to talk anyone as she looked up at the second level where Ryan and Sharpay ate with the rest of the drama club. Ryan usually ate with Sharpay to appease her then sat with them after he was finished. She gritted her teeth as she watched Sharpay talk and laugh with her friends completely acting like nothing happened between the two of them. At one point, Gabriella thought she looked over her way, but maybe it was just wishful thinking. She let out a long sigh.

"You want some of my fries?" She looked over to Chad who held out his paper plate to her. She smiled at him weakly as she took one.

"Thanks, Chad."

"I thought I'd act all chivalrous since Troy has no food to offer you."

Gabriella looked over at Troy who had devoured all his food.

"Shut up, Chad. You're making me look like a pig."

"No, dude. That's all you."

"You know if I had any food left, I'd chuck it at you."

Gabriella smiled at their playful banter.

"You okay, sweetie?" Taylor asked, putting a comforting hand on her arm.

"I'll be fine." Her voice wasn't convincing but Taylor knew not to pry. Ryan came down carrying a plate with half a burger left on it and set it next to Troy.

"What's up guys?" He took his seat between Troy and Gabriella.

"You know he's going to eat that, don't you?" Chad told Ryan. Just as he said it, Troy took two bites of the burger and it was gone. Troy looked up at everybody with his mouth still full, a little ketchup on the side of his lips.

"Oh sorry, I thought you were giving that to me." He gave Ryan an apologetic look.

"You're like a human vacuum." Everybody started laughing as Ryan took a napkin and wiped the ketchup off of Troy.

Gabriella watched Ryan as he started talking to everyone and noticed that he had similar mannerisms as Sharpay. He was also left-handed and he sometimes talked with his hands like Sharpay did. They had that same little smirk and they said certain words the same way. Gabriella involuntarily smiled as she watched Ryan.

She looked up at the second level again and saw that Sharpay had left the table. Out of instinct, Gabriella started looking around the cafeteria in search for her and spotted her exiting the door heading towards the library. She suddenly stood up, startling everyone at the table.

"You okay?" Troy asked her, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna go to the library." She gathered her things and left her friends confused.

"What's up with her?" Taylor asked Troy.

"She's stressing out over that English project." He fibbed. "She's nervous about presenting." The lie convinced Taylor but Ryan gave him a look. Troy debated on telling Ryan what was going on but realized that it wasn't his place to tell him. Sharpay might have already told him, but Troy didn't want to risk it.

--&--&--&--

Gabriella lost Sharpay the minute she got into the hallway but proceeded to the library anyways. She knew it was useless and that Sharpay was probably not going to talk to her but she needed to try again. There was no way that Gabriella was going to let this go this easily.

She entered the library and saw a bunch of students working and studying. Gabriella searched the stacks and found Sharpay standing by a shelf, reading a book. She didn't seem to notice Gabriella's appearance as she continued to flip through the pages. Gabriella cleared her throat to get her attention.

Sharpay looked up. "I thought I made myself clear." Her voice was laced with anger as she slammed the book shut. Gabriella took a step towards her.

"Come on, Sharpay. We have to talk about it." Sharpay ignored her and started to leave. Gabriella followed her. "Why don't you want to talk about it?" She continued walking. Gabriella took a deep breath and pulled Sharpay back to a deserted section in the library. "Look, don't you think I'm feeling the same way as you? I'm confused, too." Sharpay looked Gabriella straight in the eyes, clearly irked.

"The only thing I'm feeling right now is annoyance. Let it go, Gabriella. We're not friends. We never were and never will be. We're two people who have nothing in common and after the presentation tomorrow, we're not going to cross paths anymore. Just leave me the hell alone." With that, Sharpay left the library.

Gabriella felt like someone just bitch slapped her with a baseball bat as Sharpay's words echoed in her head. She just stood there, not hearing the bell ring that signaled the end of lunch.

At the end of the day, Gabriella went to the bulletin board that displayed which teacher was supervising detention. To her dismay, Ms. Darbus was in charge this week. She prayed that Sharpay wasn't going to be there for drama club as she trudged down to the auditorium. And since Gabriella had the worst luck, Sharpay _was_ there with the rest of drama club going over the winter musical. She tried her best not to look at her as she approached Ms. Darbus.

Ms. Darbus just gave her some grunt work to do on the stage. Gabriella tried her best not to be distracted by Sharpay, which proved to be extremely difficult because she was right there. She was sweeping the stage when the drama club dismembered.

"What landed you in detention?" Ryan asked as he jumped onto the stage.

Gabriella smiled at him and continued to sweep. "I snapped at Ms. Libin during class."

"Oh wow, you must of really pissed her off considering Ms. Libin is like the nicest teacher."

"Well, I'm having a _really_ bad day."

"So I've heard." His voice was knowing.

Gabriella avoided eye contact. "Did Troy talk to you or something?" She suddenly got annoyed thinking that Troy went ahead and told Ryan about what happened between her and Sharpay. But then realized that Troy would never do that.

"No, he didn't but I know it has to do with my sister because she's acting more bitchy than normal. And it seems to happen every single time I mention you."

Gabriella scoffed and started to sweep harder. "Well, your sister is the biggest bitch I know."

Ryan put his hand on her shoulder sympathetically. "What happened?"

Gabriella took a deep breath and looked at Ryan. "Does your sister care about anyone but herself?"

Ryan was confused. He thought things were going well between Gabriella and Sharpay. Sharpay seemed a lot different when she was at home. She was more relaxed and happier. Now here he was looking at the hurt in Gabriella's eyes because of something his sister did.

"Do you want me to talk to her?"

Gabriella shook her head. "No, it's okay. I've learned that you can't change people. They have to change themselves."

"Ryan! This meeting's not over!" Ryan looked over at his sister with an annoyed expression.

"You just dismissed everybody a second ago." He indicated the now nearly empty auditorium.

"Yeah, but you're co-president so get your ass back here." Ryan rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Gabriella.

"It's okay, just go. I have a lot of stuff to do." Ryan took of his hat and put it on Gabriella's head. She smiled as she adjusted it so it would fit better.

"Stay strong, trooper." He saluted her and went back to Sharpay.

"What the hell were you doing talking to her?" Sharpay demanded when Ryan returned.

"Um, she's my friend. And what happened between the two of you?"

Sharpay looked surprised at his question. "What are you talking about? Did she say something to you?" Her voice was worried.

"No, but she's really upset and I know that it has to do with you. Every single time I mention Gabriella, you get all snappy and mad. Even more so than usual."

Sharpay ran her hand through her hair in frustration. "You know, Ryan, it's really none of your god damn business."

Ryan scoffed. "You know what? It is my 'god damn business' because one, Gabriella's one of my best friends and, two, you're my sister. What happens to you also happens to me. It couldn't be more my business. So what the hell happened between the two of you?" He asked again.

Sharpay folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. "There isn't an us two, Ryan. So just leave it alone"

He shook his head in disbelief. "You are unbelievable, you know that? I know you, Sharpay, and you may not have out right said it to me, but I know how you feel about her. Ever since you guys started working together, you became different. You were happier. Genuinely happy. I haven't seen you like that since we were in middle school." Ryan looked his sister straight in the eyes. "Don't you realize that Gabriella is that _one_ person you're looking for?"

Sharpay looked at him confused. "What?" It was almost a whisper.

"You know that 'someone' who actually knows you? She's it, Sharpay, and you're pushing her away. Instead of hiding behind that façade you always put up, why can't you open up to the one person, other than me, who sees right through it?" He took one more look at her and then left.

Sharpay stood there shaken by her brother's words as she looked over at the stage where Gabriella was, hoping she didn't just hear that conversation. She resisted the urge to scream as she gathered her things and stomped out of the auditorium.

--&--&--&--

Gabriella had no idea how her and Sharpay were going to present the project in front of the whole class acting like everything was fine. She felt bad because she talked to Troy until three in the morning the night before telling him of her worries. Troy came into third hour still yawning and took his seat giving her a reassuring smile.

"You'll be fine. Just read from your script. You don't even have to look at her." Gabriella smiled weakly and waited for class to begin. Ryan came in and threw his hat at Troy who had fallen asleep at his desk. Troy jumped up in surprise making Ryan crack up. Normally, Gabriella would have joined the laughter but she was too nervous to think about anything else.

As usual, Sharpay came in last minute before the bell rang.

Mr. Orfino stood up and began class. "Alright, class take your seats and let's start with our first presentation. Sharpay, Gabriella?"

Sharpay got up and proceeded to the front of the classroom where she pulled two desks together. Gabriella took a deep breath and went to the front of the classroom as well. She looked over at Troy and Ryan who both gave her a thumbs up, showing their support. She smiled and took the desk to the right. She didn't even glance at Sharpay.

Sharpay straightened her papers and stole a quick look at Gabriella unbeknownst to her before she began the script.

"This just in, breaking news. A tale of true horror. Medea, daughter of Aeetes, King of Colchis, let blind rage and jealousy seal the fate of her two children. According to authorities, Medea stated that her marriage to her husband Jason was happy at one point, but all turned sour when Jason's lust for power caused him to leave his wife and two children. According to Medea, she dedicated her whole life and soul to her husband and she did not deserve to be treated that way…"

Gabriella zoned out as she listened to Sharpay read from the script. Sharpay's acting skills were impeccable making Gabriella believe that she was actually listening to a real newscast.

"…I now turn it over to Gabriella Montez for more details. Gabriella?" Sharpay didn't even look over at her when she finished her part in the script.

Gabriella felt a lump in her throat as she started to read off the paper. "Thank you, Sharpay." Her voice was shaky as she took a deep breath. "According to the neighbors, they heard unnatural screams coming from the household. It was also confirmed that the recent murder of Jason's new bride and his father-in-law are related to the murders of his children due to the gruesome nature on which they were killed. Medea was last seen by Jason riding off in a chariot denying him of any last contact with the bodies of his children, which she took with her. They are greatly mourned by their father…"

The presentation couldn't have lasted more than five minutes but Gabriella felt like it lasted forever. Once they were done, the class applauded. The loudest coming from Troy and Ryan. Sharpay stood up and bowed as if she were on the stage in the auditorium. Gabriella just returned to her desk letting out the breath she was holding the entire time.

"Good job." Troy said as she sat back down. She smiled weakly.

"An excellent presentation, ladies." Mr. Orfino got up from his desk and applauded as well. "Now I expect the rest of the presentations to be as good or even better than the one we just heard. That's a tough act to follow I must say." He gave his class a serious look that made them all nervous. He turned to Gabriella and Sharpay. "You will receive your grades soon."

He let the class work on their projects for the remainder of the period. Since Gabriella had nothing to do, she just joined Troy and Ryan who were working out a few more things on their project. She glanced over at Sharpay from time to time and found her writing in her notebook, not really paying attention to anything around her.

"Why don't you go over there?" Ryan suggested after watching her glance at his sister for the fifth time.

"She told me to leave her alone so I'm going to respect her wishes."

"Since when have you ever listened to Sharpay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella looked at the two boys with exasperation. "I'd rather not get verbally bitch slapped again."

"Ms. Evans, Ms. Montez. May I see you at my desk for a moment?" Gabriella and Sharpay headed towards Mr. Orfino's desk careful not to touch each other when they stood in front of him. They both smiled at the teacher. "I must say that this was the best presentation I've ever seen in my career teaching here. The creativity alone was amazing. Who thought of that newscast?"

Gabriella waited a beat because she knew Sharpay would probably answer for her.

"Well, she thought of the news article and I suggested the newscast to go along with it."

Mr. Orfino took out their scroll and examined it. "Do girls mind if I keep this for a while? I want to use it as a precedent for my other classes."

"Go right ahead." Sharpay answered again.

"You guys make one heck of a team. I'm glad I assigned you partners. You girls should work together more often. You will receive your evaluations by tomorrow."

"Thank you." They said simultaneously. It physically hurt not to look at Sharpay. Gabriella was extremely cautious not to even turn her head or even move her eyes in Sharpay's direction. She felt very stiff standing there as Mr. Orfino complimented them. Gabriella turned to leave but, in the process, accidentally knocked over Mr. Orfino's mug on his desk that held his pens.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Gabriella bent down to retrieve the pens and, out of instinct, Sharpay bent down to help her but knocked her forehead against Gabriella's. Gabriella winced in pain as she looked at Sharpay. For a split second, their eyes met but they quickly looked away. Gabriella couldn't believe that this was happening as she tried to retrieve all the pens as fast as she could. It didn't help that she kept grabbing the same pens that Sharpay was also trying to pick up. They finally gathered them all and returned the mug on the desk. Gabriella rushed back to her seat, rubbing her forehead, and was absolutely red with embarrassment.

"Tell me that wasn't as bad as it looked." Gabriella said to Troy and Ryan who watched the entire thing happen.

"Um," Troy looked over at Ryan and shrugged. "It wasn't bad as it looked?"

Ryan shook his head. "Very convincing, Troy."

Gabriella sank low in her seat and glanced at Sharpay. She too was rubbing her forehead as she continued to write in her notebook. She realized it was the same one that Sharpay left at her house that one time. It appeared that Sharpay was writing on the inside cover where the list of goals were located.

Gabriella squinted trying to read what she was writing. Maybe she imagined it, but she could've sworn she saw her name written on it.

--&--&--&--

A few days passed since Gabriella and Sharpay presented in class. And just like Sharpay wanted, Gabriella left her alone. Not once had she tried to talk to Sharpay or even asked about her to Ryan. Sometimes Ryan would try to bring her up telling her that Sharpay wasn't acting like her usual self, but Gabriella would either switch the subject or politely leave the conversation.

Mr. Orfino had given them both A's and returned the scroll. Gabriella kept it by default because he handed it to her first. She knew if Sharpay wanted it, she wouldn't have asked her. They stopped talking but Gabriella couldn't stop thinking about her. Their kiss always invaded her mind, remembering exactly how she felt when they crossed that line.

Gabriella tossed the scroll on her bedroom floor and groaned. She wanted to forget Sharpay. Forget that entire two weeks. Forget all the hours they spent working together. She wanted to forget all the feelings she developed for someone she hated. Forget how she smelled.

She bit her lip and closed her eyes. Sharpay's face flashed through her mind, haunting her.

"This is ridiculous," she told herself as she turned on her computer. She was tempted to rearrange her files so that they were all back on the desktop, as if Sharpay never touched them. Gabriella took the mouse and started to drag a file when she heard a knock on her door. Assuming it was Troy she answered, "Wow, you actually used the front door?"

"I always use the front door."

Gabriella turned around and nearly fell out of her seat when she saw Sharpay standing by her doorway.

"Wha-what are you doing here?" Gabriella cursed herself for stammering. She had a tendency to do that when she was either distressed or nervous.

"Your mom let me in on her way out. I wanted to give you back this." Sharpay held up Gabriella's zip up that she lent her.

Gabriella got up and took it from her. "So you drove all the way here to return it? You could've given it to Ryan to give back to me."

"Yeah, but that would mean I wouldn't be able to talk to you. Can I come in?" She asked realizing she was still standing at the doorway.

Gabriella looked at her and suddenly became mad. "No, you can't." She saw the shocked look on Sharpay's face. "You wanted me to leave you alone and so I did. Now leave _me_ alone. Don't let the door hit your bony ass on the way out." She turned away from her and walked towards her window.

"Gabriella…" Her voice was pleading.

Gabriella could hear her walking into the room and towards her. She wish she could just disappear right now and not deal with what was about to happen. Gabriella could feel Sharpay standing right behind her. She heard her take a deep breath before she felt Sharpay's hand on her shoulder. Her touch was warm as she turned around to face her.

Sharpay looked into her eyes. "Gabriella, I'm sorry." Her face was genuinely sincere.

Gabriella didn't know what to say as she felt a lump form in her throat. "You're sorry?" It almost didn't come out. "You can't say all those things to me and then say 'sorry' and expect me just to forget about it."

"I wasn't expecting you to, but—"

Gabriella interrupted her. "You know what, Sharpay? I'm really not interested. You made it perfectly clear how you felt about me and about us so please, will you just leave?"

"No, not until I can explain myself."

"I've heard what you had to say."

"I didn't mean what I said before."

"Then why did you say it?"

Sharpay sighed as she crossed the room and sat on Gabriella's bed. "Because…" She looked down at her hands and then at Gabriella. "I was scared."

"And you didn't think I was?" Gabriella started pacing. "Up until three weeks ago, I thought I was straight. Then you came along and I started to see you in a different light. It was like, 'Oh, Sharpay's really not that bad.' Then it was like, 'Sharpay's really cute.' Then I thought we started to become friends…" Sharpay smiled as she watched Gabriella pace and ramble on and on. "…and then we kissed and you freaked out. How do you think that made me feel?" Gabriella stopped in front Sharpay with an angry and hurt look. "I was scared, too."

Sharpay reached over, grabbed Gabriella's arm, and pulled her down to sit next to her. She took a deep breath. "Gabriella, I wasn't scared for the same reasons you were. I wasn't scared that I had these feelings for you because you were a girl. I was scared that I had these feelings for _you_."

A confused look crossed Gabriella's face. "What?"

"I've known I was gay for some time now. Remember when you asked me why I didn't go after Troy when you guys broke up? It's because I _did_ move on to other things. Other things being girls."

Gabriella didn't know what to say to this. "So…you're gay?"

Sharpay smiled. "Yeah, I guess it kind of runs in the family."

Gabriella's eyes widened. "Wait, Ryan's gay?"

"Yeah…"

"Since when?"

Sharpay let out a laugh. "Since when was he straight?"

Gabriella shook her head realizing that they completely got off topic. "This still doesn't explain why you treated me the way you did."

Sharpay sighed. "No one really knows this about me, well except for Ryan. I know everyone thinks I'm just this bitchy girl who always gets her way and doesn't care about anyone but herself. I mean, I don't blame them because it's how I act. But that's the thing, it's just an act. I do have feelings and I also get hurt."

"Then why do you treat people the way you do?"

"Because," Sharpay bit her lip realizing she was about to open up to someone other than her brother. "When I was in grade school, I had these friends. Well, I thought they were my friends. We did everything together and I thought we were going to be best friends forever. But then I found out they were only friends with me because my family was rich, and once this new girl came in with more money and more stuff than me, they completely abandoned me. They started all these rumors that I paid them to hang out with me and that I was a complete moron. No one wanted to be my friend. I only had my brother."

Sharpay suddenly started to become nervous as Gabriella just looked at her with an attentive gaze. "I closed myself up and built this tough skin. When I got to high school, I just became a bitch. I didn't want anyone to take advantage of me so I became this person that no one knew back in middle school." She took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry that happened to you, but that still doesn't give you the right to treat people the way you do. I mean think about how those girls made you feel, and now you're treating everyone else the same way."

Sharpay let out an exasperated sigh. "I know. But it's hard when you lose yourself in this shell that everyone perceives you to be. I didn't want anyone to see who I really was. This loser who was too stupid to know that she was being taken advantage of. But then you came to East High and everything changed."

Gabriella looked at her surprised. "How did everything change?"

"You were the one person who saw right through me. You're the only person who had the guts to stand up to me and put me in my place. That scared me because I thought no one could get through. Well, besides Ryan. You actually know the real me." She said the last part very quietly. "And I'm sorry I pushed you away. I didn't know what to do."

Gabriella looked away from Sharpay and thought about everything she just confessed to her. It made her feel good inside that someone as closed up as Sharpay actually opened up to her.

Sharpay was worried when Gabriella didn't say anything for a while. "I understand if you never want to speak to me again. I mean what I said was really mean and—"

She cut her off. "It's okay, Sharpay. I forgive you. I mean, yeah, that hurt a whole lot but now I understand why you said it. It doesn't excuse it, but yeah I get it."

Sharpay smiled. "So can we start over? You think we can be friends?" She reached over and took Gabriella's hand in hers.

Gabriella looked down and realized that Sharpay was rubbing her knuckles with her thumb. Chills ran through her body. She looked up at Sharpay and smiled.

"Well, maybe we can be more."

Sharpay's smile grew wider. "I was kind of hoping you would say that." She reached over and put a stray strand of hair behind Gabriella's ear.

"You did, did you?"

"Well, yeah because…" Sharpay got closer. "I like you."

"Yeah?" Their lips were only inches apart.

"Yeah. Really, really, really like you."

Gabriella smiled. "One 'really' would have been—" She couldn't finish for Sharpay pulled her into a kiss. Gabriella felt like her body could have imploded with glee when they pulled apart and looked at each other.

"Can I ask you a question?" Sharpay asked as they were lying in Gabriella's bed holding hands.

"Yeah sure, anything."

"Do I really have a bony ass?"

Gabriella let out a laugh as she turned to wrap her arm around Sharpay's waist. "Well, it can use a little more meat, but I like it."

--&--&--&--

East High was taken by surprise when they saw Gabriella Montez and Sharpay Evans walking down the halls, linking arms. They didn't know the two were a couple, but it was crazy to see the two girls being civil towards each other.

Gabriella and Sharpay smiled at Troy and Ryan as they passed them in the hallway.

"So those two finally worked it out?" Ryan asked Troy.

"Yeah, Gabriella sent me this text message yesterday." He gave Ryan his phone. Ryan looked at it and saw it just had a smiley face on it.

"Yeah, Sharpay came home extremely hyper and bought me my favorite dinner. She didn't say why she was so happy, but I could have only assumed." He paused. "So, have you told Gabriella, yet?"

Troy looked down the hallway and saw Gabriella laughing with Sharpay. "Not yet, she was too busy with her own thing. Plus, I think she already knows."

"How?"

"Well, she's insanely intuitive. And plus, the whole shirt thing. She knew it smelled like lavender." Troy gave him an accusing glare.

Ryan smiled. "What? My mom accidentally used Sharpay's laundry detergent on my load. You think I like smelling like flowers?"

Troy thought for a second. "Yeah, so does Sharpay know?"

"I think Sharpay's known since I was born. But no, I haven't officially told her but she's known for some time how I felt."

"So, when should we officially tell them?"

Ryan pulled Troy into a deserted classroom. "When the time is right, but until then," he leaned over and gave him a kiss, "let's keep it between the two of us."

Troy smiled. "Fine by me."

_--End--_

Song used is "Head On Collision" by Abreaction

**Thank you all for reading! This was my very first _High School Musical_/slash fic and I'm glad that you all enjoyed it. :-)**


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